


Red As Blood

by NervousAliceCurious



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Articles, Expose the Lies, F/F, Feeding, Food Gorn, Forbidden Names, Gen, Lunch Duty, Memories, Neck trauma, Rain, Recovered Memories, Suspicious, The Vampires' Maid, Touring The School, Vampires, Victorian Influence, copious amounts of blood, dark secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-21 13:51:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: After forcibly being Turned, the quiet, yet ominous world of REal suddenly gains another layer of Existence in which Lies stick to others as they move. And if Suzu wants to escape, she will have to punish ten of them.





	1. Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover/Don't Take Anything For Granted

8:15 according to the clock.

 

 

Dark and rainy.

 

 

 

I’m drenched already, but-

 

I guess I never thought to bring an umbrella.

 

 

 

The bus pulls up, and water stings my face.

 

 

 

 

Of course, I get splashed…

 

 

 

 

 

The doors whoosh open, and, for a moment, I consider going home.

 

 

But.

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

I get in.

 

 

 

 

There’s an empty seat in the back that I can slip into.

 

Thank God, because I don’t know anyone, and I don’t care to talk.

 

 

 

 

I unzip my bag, and make sure that it’s only me that’s covered in soak.

 

 

Everything seems fine…

 

 

 

 

At least, my homework is.

 

 

 

 

 

I search for a cell phone, but don’t find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids flock to the entrance like a living wave, and I’m just here trying to take it all in.

 

 

The soles of my shoes slide under my feet as I climb up the steps.

 

 

 

I would like to keep my nose intact.

 

 

 

 

 

Even though it’s cooler than usual, there’s no heater.

 

 

I can feel cold chills creep down my spine…

 

 

 

 

I shiver on reflex.

 

 

 

 

Heading into the nearest bathroom, I see what I knew I would:

 

A strawberry-blonde with a heart-shaped clip, and tired, red eyes.

 

 

 

Her school uniform is five sizes too big, and she looks like she’s going to collapse at any second.

 

 

 

 

-In other words, me.

 

 

 

 

Upon leaving, I bump into someone a couple years older.

 

Her hair is russet, and her eyes are a strange shade of gold.

 

 

 

Flat, lifeless…

 

 

 

 

“Oh, hey!

You’re a student here, right?”

 

 

 

Her hands clasp my shoulders, and I have a half a mind to shake her loose.

 

 

…

 

 

 

 

Those nails…are almost too sharp…

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…Yes…”

 

 

“Excellent!”

 

 

 

 

She spins, and pulls me nearer.

 

 

 

 

“So you can show me around, right?”

 

 

“…I’ll get you lost”.

 

 

“No way!”

 

 

 

The wing-dings in her eyes make me want to scoff.

 

 

 

“An absolute fairy like you!?”

 

 

 

 

 

Teeth-!?

 

 

 

 

Ow-

 

 

 

 

 

They dig into my neck before I even get the chance to scream.

 

 

It is…an eerie feeling…the blood slipping from your veins.

 

 

 

 

I feel exhausted in a matter of minutes, how is she drinking so fast-

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t bring myself to move.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My vision swims, and already a dull ache sits at my canines…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My eyes burn, and my heart slows.

 

 

A short, sharp pain later, and the teenage vampire rips herself free.

 

 

 

 

I start to teeter over backwards, but her arms slide from my shoulders to my back-

 

 

 

 

 

“Hey, now.

 

You can’t pass out yet.

 

 

 

We’ve got this whole day-

 

And you’ll need to meet my parents!

 

 

 

 

They’ll be so glad I’ve found them a maid…”


	2. Can't Turn Back The Clock/This Is Your New Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new unhappy status quo.

A…what?

 

 

…

 

 

What did she say!?

 

 

 

 

“You…what!?”

 

 

 

“Yeah”.

 

 

 

She looks at me matter-of-factly.

 

As if it’s not a big deal at all that she just bit me out of nowhere.

 

 

 

 

“They’re really busy with vampire stuff all the time, so-“

 

 

“No!”

 

 

 

I raise shaking arms, and attempt to push her away from me-

 

 

 

“But it’s too late.

 

You’re one of us now”.

 

 

 

And she’s right, if the searing heat running through my veins is anything to go by…

 

 

 

 

“So?

 

How about it?

 

 

Can you show me around?”

 

 

 

“No.

 

Undo this”.

 

 

 

“I can’t-

 

It’s permanent.

 

 

…If there’s one thing pop culture gets right, it’s that”.

 

 

 

My hands might as well be cotton balls for all the damage they cause.

 

It doesn’t take much for her to pin them across my chest.

 

 

 

“Man, you’re gonna be the difficult one for all of eternity, aren’t you?”

 

 

“If you knew, then why did you pick me!?”

 

 

“Because you were there”.

 

 

“Well find someone else.

 

I’m not interested”.

 

 

 

Her eyes take on a reddish sheen.

 

 

 

“Excuse me, but you don’t exactly have a choice here.

 

Do you know how the King gathered so many followers in the 1800’s?

 

 

When someone is bitten, they are automatically beholden to the one who did so.

 

 

 

 

That’s how our World’s hierarchy is formed.

 

 

So like it or not, you have to do what I want.

 

 

 

And what I want right now, is for you to work for us”.

 

 

 

I have a vague idea of what she's talking about but...

 

 

 

At her words, a wave of compulsion rushes through me.

 

 

Any protests I could make die in my throat-

 

 

 

“As you wish”.

 

 

 

The menace in her expression disappears, and she’s back to a serene smile.

 

 

“Excellent.

 

I knew you’d see the light sooner or later”.

 

 

 

Angry does not even _begin_ to describe what I am feeling right now.

 

 

 

 

She releases my hands, and looks at me expectantly.

 

 

 

“…When I said I was new here, I wasn’t kidding”.

 

 

 

“What?”

 

 

“It’s true-“

 

 

“But you’re, like-“

 

 

 

Sayori.

 

 

 

 

“…Not in this place”.

 

 

 

Confusion swirls in her eyes, but she shakes her head and clears it.

 

 

 

“Well, we’ll just swing by the office then, and pick up a map!”

 

 

 

 

She strides purposefully off to do just that, and my feet stumble forward on their own.

 

 

How in the-

 

 

 

I physically can’t control myself!?

 

 

 

 

I bump heads with her as she steps back to open the door, and I don’t even see stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are tomorrow and I'm scared.


	3. Dangerous To See/Impossible To Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What it's like.

A light breeze wafts across my face.

 

My eyelids flicker-

 

 

Against an indistinct background rises a giant, deep-rooted tree.

 

Dark as night, one apple hanging loose from the lowest branch.

 

 

 

I have never seen a shade of red so vivid…

 

 

 

 

I reach out to take it.

 

 

 

-*-

 

 

Huh?

 

 

I snap to, arm outstretched in real life.

 

 

 

The girl who bit me is leaning over, puzzled.

 

 

 

“You okay there?”

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

The bone-crushing exhaustion clamps me down again.

 

 

 

 

“No.

 

I think your head is full of rocks”.

 

 

 

 

She lets out a sigh.

 

 

 

 

“Well, if you’re gonna snark about it then you’re obviously fine enough to keep the tour going”.

 

 

“-That’s your opinion, not mine”.

 

 

 

I gingerly sit up, wincing at the pounding pain in my skull.

 

 

 

Auras of heat flare out from the students hurrying off to class around us, their rainbow brilliance blinding my retinas.

 

 

I don’t remember this being a part of vampirism…

 

 

 

“Need a hand?”

 

 

 

I hesitate for a moment.

 

Swallow my pride...

 

 

 

My fingers tightly grasp hers.

 

 

 

 

I smell it before I see it.

 

As she’s swinging open the door-

 

 

 

**Blood**.

 

 

 

It is the thickest, most richest scent I have ever had the privilege of inhaling-

 

 

 

A woman in a baker’s apron, and a faded, blue dress tromps by wheeling a cart filled to the brim with enough cheese sauce to drown a small animal.

 

 

 

Crimson spatters decorate the edges, and spill over the folds of her clothes.

 

 

 

 

A sharp need rises within me, and I can barely keep myself from drooling…

 

Warmth floods my eyeteeth, copper-tasting liquid dripping down the back of my throat as they elongate and stretch-

 

 

“Ah-“

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

 

She looks at me sideways, most likely wondering what I’m doing fanning air at my tormented gums-

 

 

“Uh…what are you-“

 

 

 

 

_Craving._

 

 

 

It hits me out of the blue, and won’t let me go.

 

 

 

 

-I have better things to do than go chase after the lunch lady.

 

 

But it hurts to resist-!

 

 

 

I want the kick badly, and I’m already running on empty as it is…

 

 

 

 

I can’t make myself ignore it anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

“…You coming?”

 

 

 

She knows.

 

She's figured it out.

 

 

I can see it in the way she imperceptibly tilts her head.

 

 

 

 

A subtle sign of permission…

 

 

 

“Not yet.

 

I’d rather drop this off at my locker first”.

 

 

 

I rattle the shoulder-straps of my backpack, and walk away of my own volition.

 

 

 

 

 

Following at a safe distance, I can almost see something floating at the bottom of the container.

 

 

Crimson tracks cake wherever the cart goes.

 

 

 

I can’t be the only one who can see it…but there were people around when she Turned me.

 

And during our enlightening conversation as well.

 

 

 

No one had reacted in the slightest.

 

 

 

 

She slips through a kitchen side-door, the accompanying _whoosh!_ rattling every poster tacked up along the walls within a five-foot radius.

 

 

Peeking in, I can see stainless steel everything and a conspicuous-

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

Pot of noodles waiting quietly upon the stove to be boiled.

 

 

 

 

 

Surrounded by a ring of red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more days of school left, WHOOOOO~!!


	4. You Can't Tame The Animal/You Can't Feed The Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first lie.

I move closer.

 

 

“Interested in that, are you?”

 

 

 

-?

 

 

 

She materializes from nowhere.

 

 

 

Only an inch of space separates us…

 

 

 

 

Pink eyes look me up and down.

 

 

“Say, shouldn’t you be in class?”

 

“There were other plans”.

 

 

I slide my overly-heavy bag onto the floor, the THUD echoing off of every surface.

 

 

“Oh…I see.

 

And…you came here”.

 

 

 

“Yes”.

 

 

 

I point to the cold noodles…

 

 

 

“Because I was interested”.

 

 

 

 

She nods.

 

 

 

For a woman who appears to be hopped up on too much sugar, her expression is strangely impassive.

 

 

 

“And you’re going to help me cook it, then?”

 

 

There is a pleading edge to her words.

 

 

 

“The little ‘uns who were supposed to come in for that ended up cancelling, and now I’m very understaffed”.

 

 

 

A pleading edge to her gaze.

 

 

 

 

“I don’t suppose you’d like to fill-in?”

 

 

 

 

 

So many odd ingredients all in one place:

 

 

Olives.

 

 

Carrots.

 

 

Shrimp.

 

 

Chicken wings…

 

 

 

And a large, shriveled-up grapefruit.

 

 

 

 

All spattered in blood.

 

 

 

 

 

She pours a half-gallon of water into the pot, and her fingerprints stick to the surface in red splotches.

 

 

The **smell…**

 

 

 

“…I’ve never seen noodles of that color before”.

 

 

“Ramen soaked in tabasco”.

 

 

 

Even her cleaver is coated.

 

 

 

“Certainly will go nice with the rest of the broth won’t it?”

 

 

 

 

I swallow hard, the impulse to _bite_ her-

 

 

 

 

 

“Maybe”.

 

 

I take a step, shrinking the gap, as she begins to cut the shrimp into smaller pieces.

 

 

“Although they look a bit discolored. Why is that?”

 

 

“Well I did get them post-season…”

 

 

 

**CHOP-!**

 

 

 

Fluid gets me right in the chest.

 

 

 

 

I must be a magnet for that sort of thing.

 

 

 

 

“Post-season?”

 

 

“Yes”.

 

 

 

“…Even the chicken?”

 

 

 

 

She’s telling the truth, but still, something is off.

 

 

 

 

“You ask a lot of questions”.

 

 

Her smile is too wide.

 

 

“Here-“

 

 

 

 

She entrusts ME with the deadly weapon-

 

 

What a mistake!

 

 

 

 

“Why don’t you go make yourself useful and cut up the extra wings?

 

I’ve gotta go check on something in the back”.

 

 

 

 

As soon as she’s gone, I lift the blade to my mouth, and lap up every last crimson droplet I can find.

 

 

 

A rush of energy fills my veins-I’m no longer in any danger of falling unconscious.

 

 

The problem is-

 

 

 

 

Now that I’ve had a taste, I want _more_.

 

 

 

 

I pick up one of the wings, and lick that dry too-

 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

 

 

Not disturbed in the least…only curious.

 

 

 

 

She couldn’t have decided to return at a worse time.

 

 

 

 

“Eating”.

 

 

 

 

“…the chicken raw. . .?”

 

 

 

 

It **is** only me.

 

 

 

 

“Did you eat breakfast this morning?”

 

 

“No”.

 

 

 

My muscles automatically tense as she turns down the heat.

 

 

 

“You poor thing!

 

Here-“

 

 

 

Rummages inside her apron-

 

 

 

“Have this”.

 

 

 

 

A green apple rests in her outstretched hand.

 

 

 

I feel my body move on its own-

 

 

Arms raise to hold her still, teeth sinking into the flesh…

 

 

 

 

This is **too close**.

 

Shudders of revulsion flow down my spine-

 

 

 

The blood wells up as I suck on instinct.

 

 

 

At first, its taste is bitter, like black oil.

 

 

Images flicker at the periphery of my mind…

 

 

 

 

Horned demons.

 

 

 

_Come on_

 

_Get up here_

 

 

 

 

A woman in green, stabbed to death-

 

 

 

_You’ve been the best friend I could ask for_

 

_I love you_

 

 

 

_I love you too_

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rows of apples splattered with blood…

 

 

 

_I’m so sorry_

 

_I’m so sorry you died_

 

 

But don’t worry.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll make sure that none of you goes to waste.

 

 

 

 

 

The black oil sweetens to pure cinnamon.

 

My stomach flips, and I hastily pull away.

 

 

 

The woman whose thoughts I just invaded stares at me in wide-eyed shock.

 

 

 

 

“W…

 

Wait a minute-!?”

 

 

 

 

She calls after me as I vanish out the door.

 

 

 

 

 

.  .  .  What the H* was that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You’re looking better”.

 

 

I don’t reply.

 

 

Crackling as she unfolds the map.

 

 

 

“Glad to see you didn’t mess up your first time”.

 

 

…

 

 

 

“Any ideas where to start?

 

This place is a lot bigger than I thought it was”.

 

 

 

I don’t answer.

 

 

 

I just start walking.

 

 

 

 

“The library?”

 

 

 

 

 

It doesn’t take me long to find the article online:

 

 

 

** 10 YouTubers Missing, 8 Presumed Dead... **

 

 

The seventh portrait is the woman whom I saw while I was…pre-occupied.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosanna Pansino.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more days of school left WHAT.
> 
> Expect more ETN in coming chapters. (:


	5. What's In A School?/What's In A Name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tour.

“Yeah, that was such a tragedy…did you know they never found the bodies?”

 

“…”

 

 

I can tell that much just from reading the article.

 

 

 

“And the other two just up and disappeared, or so I heard…but my mom keeps insisting it’s because they left this world”.

 

“…”

 

 

“Say, I never did introduce myself, did I?”

 

“…No.

 

You did not”.

 

 

“Well…”

 

 

 

The chair gets spun while I’m in it-

 

 

 

“I’m Valentine Russet!

 

Nice to meet you!!”

 

 

 

I scowl and rub my sore elbow.

 

 

 

“You could’ve warned me first”.

 

 

“Yeah, I could’ve, but I didn’t think I needed to”.

 

 

 

 

I rushed to the computers so fast, I never spent any time really looking at this place.

 

All of the books are old and worn, the shelves wooden, yet everything else is bullet-proof plastic and chrome.

 

 

Strange…

 

 

 

It is almost as if they transplanted an entire library from the past.

 

 

 

 

“Exams are gonna be rough if this is all we get to study from”.

 

“…I wouldn’t say that”.

 

 

 

Valentine goes slack-jawed at the size of the tome I have discovered.

 

 

“What is that?

 

The Necronomicon!?”

 

 

“…I don’t know”.

 

 

But I intend to find out.

 

 

 

I open the cover, and see drawings of the human body-

 

 

 

 

“NOPE.

 

Nononononono-“

 

 

 

She tries to snatch it out of my hands, but I refuse to give it up that easily.

 

 

 

“Isn’t this interesting…”

 

 

 

“No it’s not.

 

Put it away!!”

 

 

 

“What’s wrong with a little knowledge?”

 

 

“Nobody needs this kind-!!”

 

 

 

 

“-SHHHHH!!”

 

 

 

 

“Does the name ‘Rosanna Pansino’, mean anything to you?”

 

 

“You mean the Cooking Show Host?”

 

 

“You tell me”.

 

 

“…I know she runs ‘Nerdy Nummies’…”

 

 

“Other facts? Details on why she and seven others disappeared?”

 

 

“No, not really…”

 

 

 

She sighs, and I can almost feel her frustration.

 

 

 

“The most anybody knows about it is that the nine of them upped and left one day with no explanation-and then a source tipped the media off that Joey was there, too”.

 

 

“Which one is Joey?”

 

 

“The guy who’s been gone for at least two years…and nobody knows anything about that, either”.

 

 

“…No clues?”

 

 

“Not a one”.

 

 

 

 

We walk in silence…

 

 

 

 

“Why are you so interested?”

 

 

“I don’t know”.

 

 

 

 

“Hey kids.

 

Off to check out the pool?”

 

 

“There’s a POOL!!?”

 

 

 

Valentine practically leaps off of the floor with excitement.

 

 

 

“Where!!?”

 

 

 

“Through there”.

 

 

 

The janitor gestures to a boarded-up door with his broomstick.

 

 

 

 

“…Why is it blocked?”

 

 

 

“Ah…that”.

 

 

He laughs nervously, scratching his head with his giant left arm.

 

 

 

“Truth be told, no one rightly knows except the Pool Master herself-that’s Madison, by the way.

 

She’s supposed to get here in a couple of weeks”.

 

 

 

“And she wanted it locked up beforehand?”

 

 

 

“Your guess is as good as mine, kid”.

 

 

 

He squints.

 

 

 

“You look new…both of you do, but…”

 

 

 

He nods to me.

 

 

 

“ _Especially_ you”.

 

 

 

“I start tomorrow”, Valentine helpfully volunteers.

 

 

“-Oh, so you’re the arrival kid everyone’s been buzzing about.

 

Good for you!”

 

 

“Thanks!

 

I bet it’s gonna be an awesome year”.

 

 

...

 

 

“And you…what’s your story?”

 

 

 

“It’s-“

 

 

 

**RIIING~**

 

 

 

“Aw, shoot.

 

I’m gonna be late for my girlfriend’s class-“

 

 

“You have a girlfriend?”

 

 

“Yeah, she’s the P.E. teacher…and I help her out and stuff...”

 

 

 

He blushes.

 

 

 

“The name’s Wilmer”.

 

 

“I’m Valentine-and that’s Sayori”.

 

 

“It’s not ‘Sayori’-“

 

 

“But you look just like her-“

 

 

 

“You two sound like an old married couple”.

 

 

 

She sputters, and I mentally slap him.

 

 

 

“N-n- **no-**!!”

 

 

 

“Hah…I’m just teasin’”.

 

 

 

He reaches out and ruffles my hair on the way by.

 

 

 

“Have fun wandering!”

 

 

“Have a g-good gym class! Or something”.

 

 

 

 

I hurriedly brush every strand back into place, more than a little annoyed.

 

 

He made the clip go sideways, too…

 

 

 

“You want to go find my locker?”

 

 

“Do I have a choice?”

 

 

“No”.

 

 

“Then fine”.

 

 

 

-With a _CLICK_ , it opens.

 

 

“Yessss-!!”

 

 

She feels around the inside.

 

 

“Nice and empty-hey Sayori, think we should stop by yours?”

 

 

“It’s not Sayori”.

 

 

 

“Then what is it!?”

 

 

 

Thinly-veiled exasperation.

 

 

 

I sneak a glance at the name stitched inside-

 

The bag I left behind in the kitchen.

 

 

 

…Well.

 

 

 

 

Giving my real name would grant her more power over me.

 

 

 

 

-Except, apparently, I had nothing else to use in place of it.

 

 

If I could even get away with a simple substitution to begin with…

 

 

 

 

“Asking for another point of leverage, are you?”

 

 

“You’re stalling”.

 

 

 

Yes.

 

Yes I am.

 

 

I slowly retreat for the stairwell.

 

 

 

“…It has just occurred to me that I forgot my backpack-“

 

 

“What. Is your name?”

 

 

 

My feet root me to the ground.

 

 

 

“-I mean, is it really embarrassing, or something!?”

 

 

“No-“

 

 

“Then what’s up!?”

 

 

“I just don’t feel like handing over more rope for you to hang me with”.

 

 

 

She goes quiet.

 

 

 

“…I can’t believe _you_ , of all people, would say something like that”.

 

 

“I don’t mince words”.

 

 

“You also don’t spare feelings”.

 

 

 

 

The uncontrollable urge to do what she wants-

 

 

 

 

“-Which means, of course, that now you HAVE to tell me.

 

 

To make up for re-traumatizing everyone”.

 

 

 

No.

 

 

 

“It’s-“

 

 

 

What I want is to clench my jaw.

 

Clamp my hands over my mouth-

 

 

 

But I can’t- **NOT** -

 

 

 

 

Somebody barrels into me from behind, and I end up coughing it into my armpit.

 

 

 

“Oops, sorry”.

 

 

 

 

Valentine’s face turns a shade of red not normally found in nature.

 

 

 

There will never be another chance for me to escape her grip.

 

 

 

 

I can feel my legs trying to lock up on me as I hustle through the doorway.

 

 

“You’re back”.

 

 

 

The lunch lady holds a pink-stained washcloth to the gaping wounds on her neck.

 

 

Wounds that I inflicted about what?

 

 

 

An hour ago?

 

 

 

“Yes.

 

I seem to have forgotten something of mine-“

 

 

 

“It’s there, under the sink”.

 

 

 

 

The straps are wrapped around the pipe in a knot so complex I would need a good fortnight to undo it.

 

 

 

 

“You can have it back at the end of the month”.

 

 

 

I go for it anyway.

 

 

 

 

Her fingers snap tight around my wrist.

 

 

 

 

“ _You can have it back at the end of the month_ because you BIT me”.

 

 

“…Let go”.

 

 

“Nope”.

 

 

 

She puts down the cloth.

 

 

 

“That’s four weeks of kitchen duty starting bright and early tomorrow morning at 5.

 

Oh, and there’s interest too, for the times you’re late, or you miss school:

 

 

 

An hour for every second.

 

 

 

 

 

-And don’t even try to argue with me, young lady, I about had a heart attack on the way to the Nurses’ Office”.

 

 

 

 

“There you are!”

 

 

What kind of luck-!?

 

I don't even get to summon up an adequate reply to that-

 

 

 

“I see you didn’t get your backpack…”

 

 

 

 

This was like something out of a _sitcom_.

 

 

 

 

“I think you should take your friend and leave **now** ”.

 

 

 

She flashes Valentine a fake, sugary smile and practically flings me out the door!

 

 

 

 

 

“What’d you do to get her so upset!?”

 

 

 

 

2:35.

 

 

_Welp, guess it’s time to go home…_

 

 

She grabs my bruised hand, and I wince.

 

 

 

“Come on!

 

My moms will love to meet you!!”

 

 

 

 

_I’d_ rather not meet _them_.

 

 

 

 

The sidewalk stretches on forever-and then hits a gothic, wrought-iron fence.

 

She undoes the latch of the gate, and pushes me through ahead of her.

 

 

“Go on…”

 

 

 

A dusk orange house.

 

Victorian in construction…

 

 

 

Reluctantly, I climb up the front steps and knock on the door.

 

 

 

 

It swings open, very nearly catching me on the nose and sweeping me off the porch.

 

 

 

“Hey”.

 

 

A woman in golden robes grins like a cat.

 

 

 

“You lost?”

 

 

 

“No!”

 

 

 

Her daughter’s fingernails dig into my shoulders.

 

 

 

“Is mom home?

 

I found us a maid”.

 

 

 

“Wait, this is her!?”

 

 

 

“Yeah”.

 

 

 

“-Come on in, then!”

 

 

 

The second ‘mom’, is all in black, not unlike me.

 

She descends the stairs as if floating on air, and when her eyes land on us-

 

 

 

“Valentine, honey!

 

You’re home!!

 

 

 

And you’ve brought a friend-“

 

 

“She’s the new maid!”

 

 

“-She is?”

 

 

 

 

Stalking over the carpet, her cold hands cup my chin.

 

 

 

“Hmm…”

 

 

Turns my head from one side to the other, inspecting me-

 

 

 

“You picked well”.

 

 

 

She pokes lightly at the gouges in my neck, and I hiss in pain.

 

 

 

 

“Thank you momma!!”

 

 

“Don’t worry about it, Sweet V”.

 

 

 

Mom 1 winks, and my heart plummets.

 

 

 

“Better get packed for the Big Day…and _soon!_ ”

 

 

“Ah! Right!!”

 

 

 

The stinging pressure at my shoulder-blades disappears as the girl thumps up the stairwell.

 

 

 

“…Has she told you who we are, yet?”

 

 

“Aside from being her mothers?

 

Nothing”.

 

 

 

Mom 2’s gaze makes me think of an insect pinned to a board.

 

 

 

“I see…

 

Let’s remedy that, shall we?”

 

 

 

She turns to her partner:

 

 

“You wish to have the honors?”

 

 

“Sure, why not?”

 

 

Shrugs.

 

 

 

“I’m Andrea R.”

 

 

“And I am Vera”.

 

 

 

 

We hope you enjoy working with us…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. Here it is...the Forbidden Ship. XX

**Author's Note:**

> At this stage, EVERYTHING is subject to change...except maybe the title.


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